Before the Accident

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Before my accident my life was as normal as the majority of other people my age, but I, like others, had my share of up's and down's (especially with the Police handing out numerous fines).  In hindsight, school days were probably one of the best times of my life; completing most of my schooling in the country (Bathurst and Bowral) as a boarder and finishing in the city at the school where my father and grandfather attended - Waverley College.  Upon leaving school and after a lengthy break I got my first job at the Volkswagen Dealership at Waitara, working in the Spare Parts Division.  I remember my first pay packet was $29.50 - quite meagre compared to today’s standards.  I thought that wage was great at that time so I stayed on in that department for a while and then moved to another branch which was much larger and therefore more work and more responsibilities leading to better pay.  After a few years had passed I was promoted to the Sales Department, at which time I was moved around to other branches for the purpose of gaining more experience but I didn't feel as though I was really progressing, so I decided it was time we parted company.

After a short break my father took me on (it was the same work as I was doing before, just a different environment) and I thought I would move up the ladder a bit quicker but this was not so (my Dad had other ideas).  Whilst there, I was also working a part-time job with the Allan Moffat Ford Racing Team in Melbourne, mainly to get a bit more money and also to be involved in something I thoroughly enjoyed – car racing.  I travelled around the country by car/truck/plane to all the circuits to help out and earn a few more dollars.  Unfortunately after five years this also came to an end, plus I finished working at my Dad's firm as it was not particularly my scene.  I really felt as though I could achieve better if I looked around and found a job that utilised my skills and interests – something particularly focussed on the motor vehicle industry.

After another break I found a job in the local paper that provided me more opportunity in a position that not only gave me a bright future and good security but also self satisfaction.  I was at first a Relief/Trainee manager of the Auto Section of K-Mart (North Rocks), spending most of my time with the Managers so they could show me how the system worked in order to make things more profitable but basically they taught me how to run the section efficiently.  After a year or so I was promoted to the level of a full relief manager which was quite enjoyable as again I would travel around parts of New South Wales to relieve other managers who were going on holidays or were absent for other reasons.  This gave me the chance to prove that I was more than capable to run a full Department on my own with all the responsibilities associated with it.  The last time I went away was to our Waratah store in Newcastle which, at that time, was the busiest in the country.  I was to spend four weeks there and I knew it was going to be a very busy time – of that I was certain. Every week I was there I exceeded the previous year’s budget.  I didn't think about this much until I received a phone call from the head of that department in Melbourne to say that when I finished there I was to go to the Hornsby Store (Sydney) store to take charge of the Auto Section there. Maybe he’d seen what I had achieved at Waratah but this was the break I had been waiting for.  When I started the job at Hornsby it was easier to live within a reasonable driving time to my work place (instead of my previous location at Kirribilli a 45-50 minutes commute) and my girlfriend at that time lived and worked near the North Rocks store so we started to live together (much to my parents displeasure) in North Parramatta which was in close proximity to where she worked and also not far for me to get to work.  I enjoyed the fact that this position was permanent. 

I had always been keen on sport and keeping relatively fit by participating in swimming, golf competition's and jogging and I was involved in all these activities during this time of my life.  I continued meeting up with my many good friends at the Football Club for dinner followed by a few rounds of beer and a game or two of snooker.  This all came to a sudden halt on 6th of January 1981 after work when my life was forced to take a different course.